


Simple Complexity

by RedCoral



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Derek Uses His Words, Fake Character Death, He comes back though, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Spies, Violence, seriously you have to squint to see it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 11:19:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13480413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedCoral/pseuds/RedCoral
Summary: The one where Derek is like a 007 agent and Stiles is as close to Q as he's ever going to get and feelings are finally resolved.





	Simple Complexity

“Dude, all I’m saying is that if James Bond was as smart as you’re saying, he should have developed at least half the gadgets he’s using. But he _didn’t._ You know why? Because Q did it for him.”

Stiles was speaking but Derek had no idea what he was saying. He just agreed to a sentence five minutes ago and now he was part of a one-sided argument about whether James Bond had simple survival skills or also a brain. Or something to that extent, Derek didn’t really know. Still, he hoped his reply fell into the appropriate spectrum. “I thought it was because he wasn’t smart enough.”

Stiles looked up from whatever that thing he was fiddling with was only to glare at him. “Don’t be a smartass.” He went back to that thing in his hands but he wasn’t truly focused on it, Derek knew. He didn’t know how he knew, but he did. He was always more attuned to Stiles’ moods for some reason. He could see the set of his shoulders, the look in his eyes that sort of looked through the thing and his fingers moving mindlessly, moving parts around even though it seemed to work just as it was. All of this meant one thing; first, a long rant was coming and second it meant more to Stiles than he would let on. “You know for once maybe Q should have been recognized.”

He didn’t know why, but that made Derek freeze. Not that Stiles took note of him.

“Maybe he should have been the one to get the girls and the fancy cars. At least he wouldn’t destroy them.”

“Stiles,” Derek tried to interrupt, tried to argue the many reasons why that was impossible in the Bond universe, but Stiles spoke over him.

“Maybe Q wants someone to recognize him for the lifesaver that he is. Maybe he wants some praise or someone to tell him a job well done when it’s all over.” Stiles was getting really riled up for some reason and that made Derek frown trying to decrypt the code Stiles was laying out for him. “Maybe he wants to know he’s appreciated instead of undermined at every single turn. Because if it weren’t for his plans that hothead would have died long ago.”

Derek crossed his arms defensively and frowned harder as if that was possible, “Are we still talking about James Bond?”

That made Stiles explode.

“Of course we’re not talking about James Bond, you idiot!” Stiles yelled, throwing the thing to the floor, getting up and flailing his arms angrily at Derek while he was at it. “We’re talking about me! Because I’m here!” he said, pointing at himself, taking one step closer to Derek, his eyes locked on his. There was a fury hidden in there that Derek didn’t think he had ever seen before, not even when he almost died. And believe him, he had almost died one too many times. “I’m always here, and I’m always waiting for the time I won’t be able to save you, and I’m always wondering if there is something else I can create that can extend your life for just a little longer! But who am I in this equation, Derek?! Who am I in this little ragtag team of heroes, huh? The answer is so simple, it’s complex,” Stiles was now in front of Derek. Less than four inches of space separating them, and he was pushing a finger to Derek’s chest at every word that came next from his mouth, “ _I. Don’t. Know.”_

And Derek suddenly understood. It washed over him like a cold wind. He heard what Stiles didn’t say; _No one ever told me._ Because this wasn’t about the job description. They were a _team,_ they were a _pack_ even though they had nothing to do with wolves. That was the way Derek worked and no other team worked that way, he knew. But Derek always thought if he was going to die for this country, then he would die with family on his side.  _No one ever told me_. No one ever had. Everyone just assumed he knew just like he knew everything else and that wasn’t right. But the answer was also so simple it was complex and Stiles deserved to know.

Derek could see the rest of the team on the periphery of his vision. They were there, all weaponed up ready for whatever the enemy was going to throw at them. Isaac was leaning casually against the railing, pretending he wasn’t listening in, as if he didn’t care what they were talking about, Erica was looking as badass as ever but her gaze was intensely fixed on them waiting to see what happens next while Boyd had his arms crossed over his chest much like Derek even though his face was emanating a message of _this again._ Scott was looking wide eyed at his best friend and almost fearful, while Lydia was smirking as if she knew exactly how this was going to go. Derek avoided her knowing eyes as he looked away as he steeled himself for the answer he was going to give.

He put his arms down, put his fists in his pocket because he didn’t want Stiles to take this the wrong way. And if anyone said Derek was trying to make himself look as small as possible because he knew what he was admitting here, Derek would deny it. “If Q died, the mission would go on because that’s what’s Bond supposed to do. But if you died, Stiles…” He shook his head as if he was trying to forcibly shake that image out of his head. He looked Stiles in the eyes, then, and didn’t try to decipher the look on the other man’s face, “I would kill everyone, friend or foe, and not because the mission would have to be completed.”

Derek stood and stared then, as Stiles was struggling to process. He waited for an answer, a reaction, anything that could hint at him the direction Stiles’ mind was leading him to. But all he got was an, “I, uh, what?” and Stiles staring off into the distance. It didn’t matter. Not at the moment. The mission came first and their window to finish this was closing fast. “We have to go,” he said to the three musketeers in the back. “Our time is almost over.”

Erica was all too happy to oblige, and as Stiles was still struggling to commute with reality, she couldn’t help but stop next to him and give him a flat look. “Really, Stilinski? His explanation couldn’t have been more straight.” Then it looked like she was thinking about it, and suddenly she smirked as if she was sharing a secret, “or gay in this case.”

“Erica!” Derek growled, scowling at her.

But Erica only rolled her eyes and started towards him with a skip in her step. “Fine! I know you don’t like labels you big puppy!”

Isaac was the next to walk by Stilinski unnoticed, “I think you broke him.”

Derek blushed and spattered for some reason “I didn’t – I could never-”

“Not like that,” Erica said, rolling her eyes at him, her hands at her waist as if she was done with his shit. She probably was. “He means that you fried his brain, you stunned him into silence, you overloaded the system, which by the way good job on that.”

“Shut up,” Derek said gruffly. “We have to go. Stiles?” He called out because he was still staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. When he looked back at him, Derek said, “Get us out of this alive.” And it was like Stiles’ eyes lit up with understanding and his body was kicked into action. He grabbed his headphones and took his seat in his computer.

“See you later, sourwolf,” He said just like he did before every other mission, but this time Derek let the warmth spread in his chest.

 

* * *

 

Afterwards, when the mission was over and their issues had been resolved, Stiles finally knew where he belonged. They were lying in Derek’s spacious bed in their secret hide out, but they were still tangled together in a way where they didn’t know where the one ended and the other began. Stiles had his head on Derek’s shoulder, moving his fingers along the ridges of his chest. Sweat was pooling on his skin, but Stiles didn’t mind. It took him a few seconds before he started talking again. “I wouldn’t want you to kill everyone, you know.”

His voice was so quiet Derek almost didn’t catch it. But he did and he always would because it was Stiles. “I’d want to,” Derek admitted, quiet and ashamed.

“But you _shouldn’t_ ,” Stiles insisted. “It wouldn’t be you.”

_Au contraire_ , Derek thought. It would be him in his most primal form.

But Stiles wasn’t having this. He sat up then, careful to keep the sheet pooled around him, covering everything because he knew otherwise Derek would be too distracted to pay attention.

Give him a break. He was finally allowed to _look_.

But he looked at Stiles and Stiles looked at him back as a small smile graced his face before his expression turned completely serious.

“Okay, let’s agree on this. If anything happens to me, you don’t kill anyone.” Derek wanted to protest but Stiles wouldn’t let him get a word in. “You cry as much as you want, you lash out at however many inanimate objects, you do whatever, but you don’t kill anyone. You walk out of this life.” Stiles paused at this to look at his reaction. Derek was busy trying not to let the pain show on his face because even just the possibility of something happening to Stiles far far from now… it gutted him.

Stiles took a breath and continued as if now was coming the hardest part. “After you’ve done whatever it is you’ve done to the people who-” _killed_ “hurt me, you walk out. And I’m only allowing you this because if anything ever happened to you, I’d do the same.” Stiles said it with such conviction as if nothing will ever happen to Derek. As if, if anyone is going to get hurt is this relationship will be Stiles, and Derek will look back on this conversation someday and wonder if Stiles knew more than he was letting on even then, but for that moment, he kissed him. He kissed him like he hadn’t done yet with a passion he didn’t know he felt and a wish for reassurance that Stiles was real, was here, wasn’t going anywhere that was burning him from the inside out. When they broke apart to breathe, Derek did what Stiles asked him to through their kiss. “I promise.”

 

* * *

 

Stiles died in an explosion years later. He wasn’t the one supposed to walk in there. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Until Derek found out he wasn’t. He found the one responsible and Derek tore his throat out and ripped him apart limb from limb and displayed him for the whole world to see. He cried. He broke things. He yelled at people even though they were too stubborn to walk away from him like he wanted them to. He hurt himself. But he walked out of this life. Just like he’d promised Stiles he would.

 

* * *

 

Derek had taken up gardening now. He was taking care of the orchids, Stiles’ favourite when he saw him standing there. He was a stark shadow that went against the morning light. He was dressed in black with a leather jacket that must have once been Derek’s. He looked different but he was the same. His shoulders wear leaner, his chest more toned just like he spent the past year working out to his heart’s content. But Derek knew his heart hadn’t been content, it couldn’t have, because he was looking at Derek and he was moving towards Derek, or Derek was moving towards him, he didn’t know, and there were tears in his eyes and suddenly he was _there_ , in his arms, right where he belonged.

“I’m sorry,” Stiles whispered in his ear. He faked his death and Derek wanted to hit him, shake him, yell at him, but he did none of those things because for once ever since Stiles was gone every time he woke up Derek could breathe again. “Also, I saw what you did to that guy. I’m proud.”

Stiles had watched everything. He had watched Derek from afar the way only he knew how and no one could track him and somehow that made Derek laugh because what he did to that guy wasn’t pretty and he should have regretted it, but he didn’t. And somehow Stiles made him laugh again.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf or James Bond and whatnot.
> 
> I know the argument does not completely follow the James Bond universe, and also I'm a little confused about Q in James Bond and the character's role but this was in my head and I had to write it. It's how I deal with my exams apparently. I don't know if you're interested, but here's [my tumblr](http://puddingwillbeouralways.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it!
> 
> \- RC


End file.
